NORMLizer - THE STATE OF YOUR STASH

Despite the general cultural acceptance and economic popularity of cannabis in America—government data indicate that nearly 30 million citizens use cannabis annually, and cannabis traditionally ranks among the top five domestic cash crops—a disparate patchwork of city, state and federal laws continue to target cannabis users. Since 1965, nearly 20 million citizens have been arrested on cannabis-related charges—nine out of 10 for simple cannabis possession. Every 38 seconds in America, a citizen is arrested for possession of cannabis; 830,000 cannabis arrests were made in 2006 alone.

Historically, the top five states for all cannabis arrests are California, New York, Texas, Illinois and Georgia. The top five states for cannabis arrests per capita in 2002—the national average is 239 cannabis arrests per 100,000 citizens—were Nebraska (460 per 100,000), Louisiana (400), Wyoming (385), Kentucky (365) and Illinois (360). According to the Sentencing Project in Washington, DC, approximately 48,000 persons are currently incarcerated in America’s jails and prisons for cannabis-related offenses. A 2005 economics paper by Harvard professor Jeffrey Miron indicates that the federal and state governments spend $8 billion a year trying to enforce cannabis-prohibition laws in America.

The fate of an individual arrested with a small amount of cannabis depends largely upon a single factor: geography. A cannabis consumer in possession of a single ounce who traverses the country from Portland, ME (where cannabis has been decriminalized since 1978), to Portland, OR (the place where cannabis was first decriminalized in the US, back in 1973), will see the legal status of that ounce change dozens of times. In states such as Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Utah, South Dakota and Idaho, a lawfully discovered ounce could readily result in arrest, prosecution and incarceration for up to two years. In Ohio, possession of up to 100 grams (three and half ounces) will result in only a $100 fine, similar to a minor traffic violation. But in neighboring Indiana, 100 grams will cause you to be arrested and prosecuted as a dealer simply based on the weight.

A number of large American cities have decriminalized minor possession of cannabis for adults, including Ann Arbor, MI; Madison, WI; Milwaukee, WI; Missoula, MT; Topeka, KS; and Seattle, WA. In January of 2008, the city of Seattle issued a report regarding the city’s adoption of a policing program that made cannabis arrests the lowest law-enforcement priority. The report stated in unequivocal terms: “There is no evidence of any adverse effect.”

The report also noted that there was no evident increase in marijuana use among youth and young adults, no evident increase in crime, and no adverse impact on public health. However, the most encouraging aspect of the report was the evidence it cited of positive effects from the new policy: fewer adults experiencing the consequences of involvement in the criminal-justice system due to their personal use of marijuana, and a small reduction in the amount of public-safety resources dedicated to marijuana-possession cases, as well as a corresponding increase (albeit slight) in availability of these resources for other public-safety priorities.

—Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of NORML
A complete and updated listing of state and federal laws, as well as annual numbers for cannabis arrests, are published by NORML (norml.org or 888-67-NORML).